'Eight found alive' in Italian hotel buried by avalanche

Daria Neklesa

Eight people including two children have been found alive in the rubble of an Italian hotel that was engulfed by an avalanche, police have said, according to news agency Ansa.

About 30 people were trapped inside the remote Hotel Rigopiano in the Abruzzo region when the avalanche hit on Wednesday afternoon, with two people initially surviving the devastation and reporting the emergency.

The Ansa news agency said earlier that firefighting crews were in touch with survivors, but they were still under the rubble. Helicopters were reportedly on the way to the site to aid the evacuation.